A Canada-based Nigerian student has reportedly died after competing in mixed martial art contest in Michigan, USA on Saturday.
US authorities say the 35-year-old Nigerian man, who collapsed and died after the fight, had been living in Canada on a student visa.
Police Capt. Jeff Baker identified the man as Felix Nchikwo, but known in the ring as Pablo Elochukwu.
Baker did not release Nchikwo’s place of residence or school in Canada or his Nigerian hometown.
Authorities say he told a trainer he wasn’t feeling well after losing the fight Saturday night at a Port Huron American Legion Post.
The heavyweight, who sources say weighed 265 pounds for his MMA debut on Friday and was also a three-time gold-medal winner on the local grappling circuit, was competing in an unsanctioned event. According to sources, neither he nor his opponent was required to undergo pre-fight medicals for their bout.
The first two rounds were said to have been mostly grappling, but the inexperienced fighters both began showcasing signs of fatigue, especially in between rounds two and three.
Sometime in the third round, Nchikwo was mounted and was not intelligently defending what were deemed to be soft hammer fists. The referee was forced to stop the bout.
Authorities conducted an autopsy on Sunday but say it was inconclusive, and they’re now awaiting the results of forensic tests to seek the cause of death.